India mounted a positive reply after Steve Smith's unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell's maiden century powered Australia to a series-high 451 on day two of the third Test in Ranchi on Friday.
A captain's century hewn from granite and two wickets in a fiery pace assault after tea saw Australia wrest the momentum away from England on day three of the series-opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane shared an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 93 to keep alive India's hopes of a series-levelling win over Australia, giving the hosts a lead of 126 on a see-saw third day of the second Test in Bengaluru on Monday.
Australia fought back with two late wickets to restrict England to 196 for four and leave the Ashes series-opener in Brisbane delicately poised on Thursday after the tourists' unheralded batsmen threatened to dominate an intriguing first day.
Mitchell Starc smashed an unbeaten half-century to steer Australia to 256 for nine on a difficult pitch on the opening day of the four-match series in Pune on Thursday.
A guitar-strumming rocker when not keeping wickets, Australia's Peter Nevill will hope to hit the right note when he makes his surprise Test debut against England in the second Ashes match on Thursday.
'We need to stick to plan and back our skills to tackle India' 'You've got to be adaptable and you've got to be able to change your game almost mid-innings'
Australia remain optimistic about their Twenty20 World Cup campaign despite being shown up in all facets by India in the opening two matches of their current series. With Steve Smith leading an advanced party to New Zealand for the forthcoming ODI series, the Australians have made more changes to their XI, with Shane Watson to lead the side after skipper Aaron Finch suffered a hamstring injury in Friday night's second T20 defeat. In-form top-order batsman Usman Khawaja comes into the squad as Finch's replacement, and will likely open the batting alongside Shaun Marsh. Finch is awaiting scan results and the Australia camp is bullish he will be able to return before the start of the World Cup in India on March 8.
He has made rapid strides in limited overs cricket over the past couple of months but for Kuldeep Yadav, the ultimate challenge is to bowl long spells consistently in the Test format.
All-rounder Hilton Cartwright will make his debut for Australia in the dead rubber third Test against Pakistan in Sydney on Tuesday, with left-armer Steve O'Keefe returning to the side as a second spinner alongside Nathan Lyon.
Hardik Pandya slammed a quickfire half-century and then claimed a couple of early wickets to help India outclass Australia in the rain-hit first One-Day International in Chennai on Sunday.
Opener Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson will all play their first Tests at Adelaide Oval after selectors wielded the axe following the Hobart humiliation, which gave South Africa an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Eoin Morgan and David Willey shone as England held their nerve to beat Australia by three wickets in a tense fourth one-day international at Headingley on Friday and level the series at 2-2.
Australia have opted for experience over youth in an attempt to win a maiden World Twenty20 title by selecting veterans Brad Hogg, Brad Hodge and Brad Haddin in their 15-man squad for the tournament in Bangladesh next month.
Australia 'A' batsmen again showed their prowess in tackling spin on a difficult track as they comfortably beat India by three wickets to enter the final of the tri-series tournament, in Chennai, on Monday.
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Saturday.
Pragyan Ojha bagged an impressive five-wicket haul as India 'A' dismissed Australia 'A' for 268 before extending their lead to 154 runs by the end of the third day's play in the first unofficial cricket Test, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai, on Friday. At the close of play, the hosts were 121 for 3 in their second innings.
While multiple-time world champions and Champions Trophy winners Australia are always a tough nut to crack, New Zealand will enter the game at Edgbaston with renewed confidence after their six-wicket warm-up win over Sri Lanka at the same venue.
Mitchell Marsh kept calm after New Zealand got the sniff of an unlikely victory and scored his sixth one-day international half century to guide Australia to a four-wicket win in the second match of their one-day series on Saturday.
Frustrated by the performance of his bowlers in the second One-Day International against Australia in Brisbane on Friday, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni declared that given the attack at his disposal right now even 300-plus scores are not enough against the home side.
Ashes battles against England have done much to shape Steve Smith as a cricketer but his first series in charge of Australia could do plenty to define his legacy as captain.
Pakistan-born Fawad Ahmed is likely to make his full Australia debut over the next month after being named as the specialist spinner in the squad for six one-day and two Twenty20 internationals against England on Thursday.
The overnight batsmen each survived a review to power India to 435 for six at lunch in response to Australia's 451 after a wicketless session played out under an overcast sky.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann is reportedly considering playing reserve wicket-keeper Matthew Wade as a specialist batsman in the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford if he manages to make a good score in the tour game against county side Sussex, beginning on Friday.
Shaun Marsh and Matt Renshaw struck contrasting half-centuries on an engrossing day of cricket to help Australia take a first-innings lead of 48 against India in the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed career-best figures of eight for 50 to help Australia bundle out India for 189 on the first day of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
A few eyebrows may have been raised finding Umesh Yadav introduced into the attack in the 28th over but Indian team's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar termed it as a part of the plan knowing the Vidarbha speedster's ability to get reverse swing.
Pakistan, who briefly topped the Test rankings last year, have now lost six straight Tests, one to West Indies in Sharjah, two in New Zealand and three in Australia.
Having flattered to deceive on most occasions after his transition from Under-19 to senior cricket, Delhi boy Unmukt Chand would like to make amends as he leads India 'A' in the tri-nation 'A' series, considered a launch pad to the senior team.
India 'A' off-spinner Baba Aparajith struck late to claim five wickets, but it was opener Cameron Bancroft's strokeful 150 that powered Australia 'A' to a crucial first innings lead on Day 2 of the second four-day unofficial cricket 'Test' in Chennai on Thursday.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum ended his One-Day International career with a series victory over Australia on Monday with his side sealing a 55-run win in the deciding third match at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
Boozy celebrations have been a part of Australian cricket for decades but Test hopeful Fawad Ahmed will be politely declining when the victory beers are passed around on the tour of the Caribbean and England.
Australia have cut opening batsman Ed Cowan and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from their list of 18 centrally-contracted players, but handed opener Phillip Hughes another chance to establish himself in the national set-up.
India were on the verge of a riveting series victory after an incisive performance from the bowlers saw them skittle out Australia for a paltry 137 in their second innings on the third day of the fourth and final cricket Test in Dharamsala, on Monday.
Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe took 12 wickets in the match to help Australia beat India by 333 runs in Pune on Saturday as the tourists took a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series between the world's top-ranked sides.
Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe picked up a career-best six for 35 to help Australia take command of the first Test against India after 15 wickets fell on a bowler-dominated second day of the contest in Pune on Friday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
The Australians are struggling against India's new spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and the hosts would like to ensure that it doesn't get any easy as the series progresses.
Marcus Stoinis scored his maiden one-day century but it was not enough to give an undermanned Australia an astonishing victory in the opening match of their one-day series against New Zealand at Eden Park on Monday.
